Chapter 19
Xiao Yuanzhi had clearly become fully immersed in her performance.
A bitter smile curved her lips, while her voice carried self-mockery and helplessness.
“Every day, I have to watch her with another man—laughing with him, talking with him. I’m so jealous. So incredibly jealous.”
“I envy how he can draw all her attention. I envy how her heart belongs to him. I envy how he receives every bit of her kindness.”
“I’m jealous too. Not only of him, but of everyone.”
“I’m jealous that they can stand so close to her, that they can receive even one glance from her, that they can speak with her, and that they can obtain even the slightest concern from her—even if it’s only out of politeness.”
Xiao Yuanzhi sniffed miserably.
That small movement caused the thin mist in her eyes to gather into tears, which slid all the way down her cheeks.
“I’ve resented things too. I’ve resented heaven and earth. Why did they have to treat me this way?”
“Why wasn’t I the one who won her heart?”
“Why wasn’t I the one standing beside her?”
Xiao Yuanzhi began crying aloud.
The tear tracks on her face deepened again and again.
She sobbed as she continued, “No one could give me an answer.”
“But that person clearly doesn’t love her, while I’m the one who loves her most.”
“Why can I only watch her from a distance?”
“Why can’t I get closer?”
After listening to this emotional and vivid “confession,” the bandits in the hall dissolved into tears.
A few of them were still attempting to act tough, but the trembling corners of their mouths silently revealed that they were close to breaking down too.
Wei Zisu had yet to recover from her shock.
Xiao Yuanzhi’s words had stunned her so thoroughly that she had even overlooked the claim that Eldest Senior Brother did not love her.
Only one thought filled her mind—
Xiao Yuanzhi loved her!
Tears continued pouring from Xiao Yuanzhi’s eyes as though they cost nothing.
While everyone in the hall remained immersed in her profound devotion, Xiao Yuanzhi’s expression abruptly changed.
Her gaze became icy, with threads of hatred mixed within it.
She clenched her teeth.
“Wei Zisu, I truly hate you.”
“I hate you for appearing.”
“I hate you for being so dazzling.”
“I hate you for stealing away all my joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness without ever asking whether I was willing.”
“I hate how you didn’t need to do anything, yet still turned me into someone who no longer resembles myself.”
“But the person I hate most is me.”
“I hate myself for being so useless.”
“I hate myself for having no pride.”
“Even though you despise me, I still shamelessly want to crawl toward you, no matter what method I have to use.”
She had perfectly embodied the word humble.
“But Wei Zisu, even though I hate you, I want you to live more than anyone else.”
“To live well.”
“Even if I die today, you must carry my hopes with you and continue living.”
“And I believe you will.”
Xiao Yuanzhi raised her head slightly and blinked hard, trying to force back the rest of her tears.
Unfortunately, it was not very effective.
She took another deep breath.
The earlier bitterness of unrequited love and unwillingness gradually transformed into relief.
She looked toward the bandit leader, who had already secretly wiped his tears several times.
“Big Brother, bury me.”
“I’ve already said everything clearly. Even if I die now, I’ll have no regrets.”
The sudden smile on her lips looked, to everyone else, like a desperate attempt to remain strong.
She continued, “Thank you.”
“If you hadn’t captured both of us and brought us here, these words might have remained buried inside my heart for my entire life.”
“I might never have spoken them aloud.”
“She would never have known.”
“So this gratitude is sincere.”
After hearing this, Third Brother began sobbing so violently that he could no longer speak.
He could only produce several choked whimpers.
The bandit beside him quickly pulled him into his arms and patted his back comfortingly.
Xiao Yuanzhi closed her eyes.
Two more tears slid down her cheeks.
When she opened them again, her gaze held the determination of someone prepared to die.
“Do it.”
“I only hope you’ll release her.”
“Thank you.”
The bandit leader stared at Xiao Yuanzhi, unable to calm himself for a long time.
What a deeply devoted person!
Then look at that senior sister.
If the two of them could become a couple, the word perfectly matched would hardly be enough to describe them.
The bandit leader signaled to one of his men.
Understanding immediately, the man untied Xiao Yuanzhi.
When the bandit pulled her upright, Xiao Yuanzhi’s weakened legs nearly gave way beneath her.
Fortunately, she steadied herself in time.
She shook her head slightly.
She had failed to restrain herself earlier and performed with a little too much force.
She had cried rather fiercely.
Still, judging from everyone’s reactions, they seemed to believe her.
Xiao Yuanzhi said to the bandit leader, “Big Brother, I don’t care if I die, but please—you must release her!”
To outsiders, Xiao Yuanzhi still worried about Wei Zisu even while walking toward her death.
Just look at how deeply she loved her!
What Xiao Yuanzhi was actually thinking, however, was—
If they did not release Wei Zisu to rescue her, she would really die!
Wei Zisu’s heart was filled with countless conflicting emotions.
Everything had happened too suddenly.
So suddenly that she had no idea how to respond.
She had never imagined that the little junior sister she hated so much would abandon even her own life for her sake.
Xiao Yuanzhi had assumed she was about to be dragged away and buried alive.
Instead, the bandit leader asked, “You’ve said so much, but how can you prove any of it is true?”
???
“How do I prove it?”
Xiao Yuanzhi was utterly bewildered.
She had spent so long performing and had even moved the bandits to tears.
Yet they still did not believe her?
“How is someone supposed to prove love?”
Xiao Yuanzhi paused before continuing, “Is being willing to give up my own life in exchange for her survival not enough to prove that I love her?”
The bandit leader maintained a stern expression.
“How do I know you’re not merely delaying for time?”
Xiao Yuanzhi had to admire him.
As expected of the bandit leader—he truly was different.
He was not as easy to fool as those other low-budget bastards.
He was even clever enough to guess that she was stalling.
But guessing was one thing.
How could Xiao Yuanzhi stupidly admit it?
“Then tell me. What must I do to prove that I love her?”
“Unless…”
Xiao Yuanzhi watched the bandit leader as countless possibilities flashed through her mind.
Did he want her to sever a hand?
A foot?
A finger?
Or stab herself?
She prayed repeatedly in her heart.
Please, not any of those!
She was terrified of pain.
The mere thought alone was horrifying.
If she actually did something like that, Wei Zisu would not even have time to dig her out of the ground before she was already dead.
Under Xiao Yuanzhi’s expectant gaze, the bandit leader continued—
“Unless you kiss her. Then I’ll believe you.”
???
Although this request was thousands upon thousands of times better than what Xiao Yuanzhi had imagined, and she could accept it, still…
Could this bandit leader secretly possess a yuri-loving soul?
“Big Brother, this… wouldn’t be appropriate.”
Xiao Yuanzhi had watched plenty of girls’ love films.
She found it delightful to watch soft, fragrant, beautiful women kiss one another.
She had even felt a little envious.
But that did not mean she could kiss someone with whom she had no emotional foundation!
She had principles too, all right?!
“What’s inappropriate about it?”
The bandit leader summoned one of his men and whispered several words into his ear.
Then he looked back at the resistant Xiao Yuanzhi.
“Are you going to kiss her or not?”
Watching the subordinate leave the hall made Xiao Yuanzhi increasingly nervous.
Had he gone to fetch a saber?
“I…”
Xiao Yuanzhi continued struggling.
“This truly isn’t appropriate.”
Seeing the suspicion in the bandit leader’s eyes, Xiao Yuanzhi hurriedly explained, “Don’t misunderstand me.”
“Being intimate with her is something I’ve dreamed about.”
“But right now, only I love her. Her heart belongs to someone else, and she doesn’t love me.”
“If I forced her and made her unhappy, then I wouldn’t be happy either.”
“What would be the point?”
“Besides, something like a kiss should happen naturally.”
“Both people should return each other’s feelings. It isn’t something that can happen merely because one person wants it.”
“Then simply knock her unconscious. Once she’s unconscious, she won’t know anything.”
Xiao Yuanzhi fell silent.
She truly wanted to give the bandit leader a “666.”
What he said even had a tiny bit of logic.
But Wei Zisu had already heard everything.
Would knocking her unconscious now not be the same as covering one’s ears while stealing a bell?
Did this man believe Wei Zisu was stupid, or that Xiao Yuanzhi was?
“This…”
Before Xiao Yuanzhi could finish, the sound of a saber leaving its sheath rang through the hall.
Shing—!
Xiao Yuanzhi’s face filled with disdain.
They had truly underestimated her.
Was she, Xiao Yuanzhi, the kind of person who would bow before violence?
Was she the kind of person who would abandon her principles merely to survive?
In the next instant, she crossed the distance in several quick strides.
She hurried over to Wei Zisu and crouched in front of her.
Tilting her head slightly—
she kissed her.
The contact between their lips sent Wei Zisu’s mind completely blank.
She had never expected that Xiao Yuanzhi, who had still been negotiating with the bandits only moments earlier, would suddenly rush over and kiss her.
The bandit leader stared intently at the two women kissing before him.
For some unknown reason, he felt as though his heart might leap out of his chest.
He was inexplicably excited and thrilled.
Before Wei Zisu could recover, Xiao Yuanzhi swiftly pulled away from her lips and stood.
She turned toward the bandit leader.
“There. Any other questions?”
It was only a kiss.
A person should not get hung up on trivial details.
What did something this small matter?
It was not as though she had never kissed anyone before.
She still remembered the other person being a gentle older beauty, with long curls draped over her shoulders, dressed in a qipao and standing around five-foot-seven.
Her entire body radiated a gentle aura capable of making someone lose themselves within it.
Of course, Xiao Yuanzhi had awakened from the dream afterward.
It had nearly made her cry with anger.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
She had needed to pound the table for a long time before finally calming down.
“How did the kiss feel?”
Xiao Yuanzhi was utterly confused.
Could someone please explain the expectation in the bandit leader’s eyes?
Was this man some kind of pervert?
He was even asking how the kiss felt.
Did he expect her to write a several-hundred-word essay describing the sensation?
Besides, how would she know?
At the time, she had been thinking only about surviving. She had merely pecked Wei Zisu lightly.
How could she have gathered any profound impressions?
If she absolutely had to describe it, Wei Zisu smelled very pleasant—
and her lips were soft.
Xiao Yuanzhi wanted to answer perfunctorily, but she feared he would continue asking questions.
So she could only make something up.
“At first, I was excited. So excited that I can’t even describe it.”
“After I kissed her, her lips felt soft and sweet, like candy.”
“The sweetness reached all the way into my heart.”
“At that moment, I felt incredibly happy, as though everything in the world had suddenly become beautiful…”
Xiao Yuanzhi became increasingly enthusiastic as she improvised.
She failed to notice that Wei Zisu was watching her.
Wei Zisu’s expression was filled with anger and humiliation, as though she wished she could personally cut Xiao Yuanzhi down.
At first, Wei Zisu had been able to regard the kiss as an emergency measure.
But now she knew Xiao Yuanzhi’s feelings.
Xiao Yuanzhi had kissed her without asking permission.
Did being two women mean it did not count as taking liberties with her?
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